The metamodernist no longer knocks, knowing a camera will loudly cue their arrival. — For the corporate-speak raised transhuman mind of thee zooming-type manlet today artistic ambition begins with a showing of feathers to a fish-eye lens, a quiet oath to generate capital atop a seeming random collection of fifteen second long thoughts in disordered connection. The expected level of ironic, subversive thought which the youth of past generations have always breached is now replaced by boldly stated malignant ignorance from the minds of babes too absorbed by the grinding chaos of the algorithmic lottery available to even slightly resemble idealism. For the aging vampire cult looking to siphon the blood of young minds the fresh meat available likely smells diseased, psychotic and detached as whirring circles of T-posing, NPC type behaviors manifest as idle bodies in a glitched-ass false render of their perceived open world. A frenetic hardcore wracked psyche applied to death-jammed movement eased by quasi-psychedelic emergence unto post-whatever existential statement Denver, Colorado-based trio Astral Tomb‘s sophomore full-length album refuses to be anything more than shards of uncalculated feeling expressed without any predicated standards or strictures holding up the line. As such it will fall under the radar of interest for those expecting a refined continuation of their weirding death metal jam and instead presents a broader-minded, better performed set of vignettes which loosely amalgamate into a quasi-progressive mount.

Astral Tomb officially formed circa 2019 beyond a brief stint as Ring Nebula and went at it pretty hard per a roughshod start having worked through the demo process, swapped roles here and there while generally feeling out who they were beyond high school age weirdos looking to make heavy music. The post-2020 line-up seems to have fit best and ultimately yielded a sloppy promotional demo (‘Degradation of Human Consciousness‘, 2021) and a debut LP (‘Soulgazer‘, 2022) which’d refined and clarified the idea just enough to warrant putting it to tape. The description I could launch at that debut in review was loosely an avant-garde/progressive death metal influenced jam which ventured into slam, hardcore, post-music as it reached for disembodied dramatism and emotional outbursts which approximated the sensation of prog-death sans any real skill involved. That first album didn’t necessarily work for me for the sake of its tonal deafness, muddled timing and shoddy musicianship but I’d been impressed with the amorphous character, the adventurous psychedelia-imbued spirit of the band as they reached for an emergent feeling. Even if they’d admirably resembled post-structural idealism there was no real payoff in terms of profundity and from my point of view this is the only real ‘ask’ on my part going into ‘Total Spiritual Death‘, that it arrives with some clear enough meaning attached and for sure some improved musicianship in hand.

Recorded on analog equipment once again tapping into the Pete DeBoer vein for guidance as they attempted to pursue the singular goal of “breaking boundaries” the listener must come to terms with the fact that ‘Total Spiritual Death‘ is not a leap to the next paradigm so much as it is a well-lit corridor on the path forward as Astral Tomb are still in a formative stage of composition per their loose psychedelic/avant-garde rock atmospheric motions and impromptu transitions. Though it is a fine enough idea to merge this post-death metal fusion of indie rock, death metal and hardcore slammin’ into one groovy puddle that which stitches it all together never manages any considerable faculty in the process. Emotional outbursts rule their path and most of them are either sickly pale with dread or speak more to congested, unresolved frustration more than they do any sort of profound artistic realization. What keeps this from working despite plenty of advancements on all fronts? Noodling. Specifically guitar noodling, scratched at imprecise movement which escapes the practiced touch of a serious player and instead the scrambling fingers of a beginner’s wonk-and-scrabble at leads in passionate but horrendous flail (see: “Coward”). As purely emotional, non-linear avant-music output sourced from the moment I appreciate this level of commitment but it bungs the listening experience and doesn’t value the listener’s time or sentience. But, sure, whatever I mean I listen to noise rock so take this with a grain of salt.

Jamming brutal death metal? — Now, that isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate the psychedelia apparent. Amorphously dangling reason trudging an aggressive and illogic path with listless and anxietous futility is exciting enough in motion and without the elephantine memory engaged. As was the case with ‘Soulgazer‘ there is some inherent experiential value to behold when sitting with a record which is more ambitious than its skill level might allow as it gives primitive service to lofty ideas, humanizing every moment the same way raw garage rock, jam sessions, and live performances tend to in underground spaces. Whereas “Cathedral” sort of has an Atheist-esque traipse into view and “Coward” has this exciting brutal fire to its beginnings Astral Tomb are much better at distorting the sensation of prog-death than they are performing it and in that sense the death-metallic elements of the album act as a solidifying agent but not the core impact of the full listen. Jumping into “All Black ‘Vette” with its overcharged guitar synth shriek’d opening and additional vocals (per Elle Reynolds, who is featured more prominently on indie rock gloomer “Eyes Wide Shut”) does eventually manifest a sickened groove, an elektro-bap beat, and warped guitar strikes which present a satisfyingly janked-at discord as the piece develops. When they get weird with the “Wow, so random” stuff the entertainment value of the experience pumps up a bit while also crafting a flippant mood as opposed to an introspective one.

If there is one element which saves the day here it is the finesse of the rhythm section as drummer Zack Johnson has clearly upped his skill level and essentially walks all over the otherwise imprecise, struggling to keep up vibe of the group. Without question the nuke in this regard is “Funeral of Self” where I assume additional percussion from guitarist Adrian McClair comprises the roughly five minute drum solo/jam which rides out early in the song. The piece itself is unfocused and doesn’t manage much of a statement in its creative run-on arc but it does manage the most captivating spot on the full listen beyond the unexpected traversal of “All Black ‘Vette”. While we can still trust that the trio will develop their riffcraft, songcraft and such over the course of their intentional evolution there is something to be said for the ambition of stream-of-consciousness music, or, jammed feeling work in the death metal adjacent realm as it rarely merits much visibility at all. The value of this record feels somewhat ephemeral to start, a few moments sink in over time and ultimately it feels like a long walk with a group of folks still feeling-out their sense of self and place within heavy music. It does appear they’ve done exactly what they want to do, no pandering to anything but their own tastes, and I admire that even if some of the lighter moments on the record simply don’t work for me. Consider it a step on a good path rather than a leap into something truly great. A moderately high recommendation.

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